Portland basketball hero Joel Foxwell needed so much water to cool off after torching Gonzaga

Coming off a 30-point loss to Washington State, the 10-14 Portland Pilots had nothing going for them in the 2025-2026 college basketball season, making their matchup with Gonzaga on Wednesday night appear to be nothing short of an egregious mismatch on paper. Freshman guard Joel Foxwell had other plans, dropping 27 points and eight assists to lead Portland to the biggest upset of the year.

The effort took everything out of Foxwell, who was “literally crawling” off the floor by the end of the game, according to KOIN News sports reporter Brenna Greene. Foxwell was on the court for 39 of the 40 minutes and was so exhausted after the fact that he needed two cups of water and barely had enough breath for his post-game interview.

“Coming in, we had the belief,” Foxwell said, via Greene. “We played a bunch of really good teams and we just haven’t been able to get over the line. Just to be able to get over the line against a top team is awesome. It’s a surreal feeling. Credit to all my teammates and coaching staff. None of this would happen without them.”

WHAT A GAME TONIGHT.

Caught up with Portland's Joel Foxwell postgame, the man who was so on fire against Gonzaga he needed not one but two cups of water during our interview.

The Pilots' win marks the first time Portland has beaten a top 10 ranked team EVER. pic.twitter.com/Nujk5SbsSs

— Brenna Greene (@BrennaGreene_) February 5, 2026

Gonzaga entered the game on a 15-game win streak and ranked No. 6 in the country. The Bulldogs’ only previous loss came against No. 2-ranked Michigan in November.

Portland’s loss to Washington State was its third consecutive before hosting Gonzaga in the Chiles Center on Wednesday night. The Pilots entered their biggest game of the year just 1-4 in their last five games and just 3-8 in the WCC overall.

All the factors had Gonzaga instilled as a 22.5-point favorite to begin its two-game road trip with its 16th consecutive victory. Before Wednesday night, Portland had not previously beaten Gonzaga since 2014, per Greene.

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